West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1887-12-08
A GLIMPSE OF JAPAN.
ITS AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES
AND INDUSTRIES.
The Fishing Grounds-Homc OF the
Mikados-Not a Flour Mill In tho
Entire EmpirC.

The Fishing Grounds-IIonc OF tho
Mikados-Not a Flour Mill In tho
Ehtirc Empire.
There are very few readers, saws the
Americda AHd'yst, who have either the
tlme, inclination or opportunity Of study.
ing the manners and customs of the
japanese, and equally few who conceive
that OF the 1876, 900 square miles. or let
us say 100, 600, 600 acres covered by their
remarkable empire, only some 10, 600. 600
acres are actually under any kind of cul
tivatlon. Yet, from this small Space.
these industrious and thrifty pcop!e-
who wear no wooleus and eat neither
beef, mutton, pork, milk, butter, nor
checsc--manage to obtain, not only all
the nutrtive and textile plants that pro.
vide them with food and clothes, but an
annual surplus of 80, 600, 600, 600 pounds
OF tea, -, 600, 600 bales OF silk and cnor.
nous quantities of rice, tobacco and
hemp for expectation to their foreign
neighbors.
OF the population Of 3s, 600, 00O, more
than half are agriCulturiSts; 1, 800, 600
being landlords owning and tiling nm
average of 2A acres. The soil is generally
black, vegetable mold, with occasional
patches OF sandy and clay loans, and as
II never freezes on the lower levels.
owing TO the mi,dncss of the climate. il
is made to bear both winter and summer
crops the same year. Considering the
immense areas unoccupicd for tiihgc,
and so admirably adapted for grazing,
the japanese possess relatively smaller
number OF domestic animals thm any
other nation; they have, therefore, no
farm-yard fertilizers to assist them in
maintaining the soils fccundity.
To tho farmers OF our own beautiful
country this must seem anomalous. for
there is very little doubt that with our
| prevailing notions our agricultural opcr
ations would, under similar conditions.
soon be brought to deadlock, but
with the Japanese the matter is al
together diilercnt they manage Ter
| fectly well without this resource, and
with no precise knowledge OF either
botany or chemistry, succeed, by their
intensive system, in raising crops five
times heavier than ours. One OF Their
| chief manurial agents is scawccd, which
| is thrown up by the tides along their
! 5000 miles Of coast in great banks, col
lcctcd when the tide rcccdcs, piled up
and allowed to dccompose. When ready
/ for use it is carried up TO the foot hill 8
! III bodlS, anu lntutt ny lOnH lines OF
! pack horses TO the fields.
II is not at all an unusual thing to
meet in the course of half n days travel,
some 1000 or I 800 horses or cattle
! loaded with this material, AMI as the
! same animals bring down the farm pro-
duce 10 the sea, river or canal, the cost
OF carriage is very small
The fishing grounds Of Japan are
/ nrohably tnprp pvtpugiva In, ,rnto 81 ION q,
its size than those OF any other country,
and as during certain parts OF the year
| the water swnrms with fish that are use
! less for food, large fleets OF boats and
! junks arc employed in catching them for
manurial purposes.
The untitled aud ungradcd lands on
/ .hc plains, hills and mountain sides, are
| covered with a wild and rank vcgcta.
| lion, which is constantly cut down by
y en-, women and children, and carried
upon their backs or on the backs Of
/ cows 10 the farm houses. where, bc ng
/ burned in great heaps, together with all
the cars and straw OF the rice, rye, oats,
! wheat, barley and milct, tho ashes are
| plowcd into the ground. IncXhaus,iblc
| deposits Of shells, limestone and gypsum
are also worked, burned, and employed
| I'm the same way.
At Kioto, the old capital and home OF
the Mikados, the conqucring races ha,
titled tho soil for 1900 ycirs; and it is
affirmed by many travellers of undouJtcd
authority, that their average summer
crops Of rice, amount after hulling, 10
! 20 bushels, and that their winter crop
OF wheat, grown i'm the same ground,
never yields less than 40 bushels per
acre. Every farmer is alive TO the ncccs-
sity Of putting back into the soil, after
each crop, all the ellen cnts Of fertility
which that crop has taken away, and
spares no effort in order 10 accomplish
that end. What salutary lesson is CON
taincd in that bric stated fact, How
well our own agliculturi,ts might profit
by laying II % heart
The staple crop Of the country is rice,
fully half the land being devoted TO It's
two varieties, lowland and up and Low
land rice is grown in valleys, where irri.
cation is practicable and where. "a
facilitate the flooding of the plains,
the land is subdividCd into small
plats and lcvelcd up or en-
banked. In order that these pluts may
&c level, IL is customary, in slopipQ dis.
tricts, to make the cmhnnkcd sub.
divisions very small. generally about the
size OF an ordinary room, Dut seldom
/ larger than an average sized house.
l Rice, however being cOmpos Il of pure
starch, would not OF itself suffice fOr
their support and they consequently dc.
vote their winter cultiva ion 90 wheat.
barley and rye, which are either hulcd,
/ boiled and clicu like rice. or ground
and mixed with her sub. tauccs and
made into cakes. The people have no
knowledge Of or word in their language
for what VIC call bread. and in addition
20 their utter ignorance of fermentation,
do not possess % single flour mill in their
entire empire The grind their grain in
small hand mills. the cxlct counterpart
Of those that arc pictured ON thc tombs
and temples Of tho Egyptians, md bolt
| 10 by shaking thc -four through several
Stoves or screens covered with cotton
| cloth.